Immigrant Profiles & Demographics

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Immigrant Profiles & Demographics

In an era when publics are seeking to understand how immigration is reshaping populations and local communities, and the effect that newcomers are having on economic, educational, and labor systems, it is imperative to have access to credible and authoritative data. The U.S. and international data-rich research offered here, and data resources offered through our Data Hub, empower users to learn more about the role of immigration in today's world. Browse by region, by type of research, and more. And visit MPI's Data Hub for data tools, maps, and more.

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Once known for large-scale emigration, Greece has become the main point of entry for unauthorized migrants heading toward Europe. The country must now — amid economic turmoil — grapple with issues related to its highly porous borders, mounting asylum applications, and inadequate immigrant-detention system.

There were more than 46 million nonimmigrant (temporary) admissions to the United States in 2010, the highest number in nearly three decades. MPI's Alicia Lee and Jeanne Batalova outline the definition of nonimmigrants and take a detailed look at admissions data and data limitations.

Comprising only a small share of all immigrants in the United States, the foreign born from Taiwan seem to embody the very spirit of the Asian Tiger. As of 2010, Taiwanese immigrants exhibited extremely high levels of educational attainment; a notable tendency toward homeownership; and elevated rates of employment in management, business, information technology, and certain other professional, science, and engineering fields compared to the foreign-born population overall.

In a highly selective way, flows of internal migrants within Taiwan have responded quickly to political, economic, and social changes throughout the nation’s history, and have spurred development of the country’s industrial, services, and technological industries. In the past 20 years, however, international migration has reemerged in relevance and now includes the immigration of foreign workers and wives and the emigration of some of Taiwan’s best and brightest.

From rather humble beginnings, the Chinese immigrant population in the United States has grown steadily since the 1960s to reach about 1.8 million in 2010. Compared to the foreign born overall, Chinese immigrants report higher levels of educational attainment, are less likely to live in households with an annual income below the poverty line, and are substantially more likely to have naturalized as U.S. citizens.

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Recent Activity

The Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) and Europe appear to be an ideal demographic match: the former has a large supply of young, active workers, and the latter has a shortage of the youthful, skilled or unskilled labor it needs to sustain its economic competitiveness. MENA is the source of 20 million first-generation migrants, half of them now living in another MENA country and most of the rest in Europe. The region also hosts around the same number within its borders. In addition, the size of MENA’s working-age population will continue to rise sharply in the next two decades while the corresponding segment of the population in Europe will soon start to decline.

This fact sheet provides a demographic portrait of foreign-born veterans of the U.S. armed forces. By analyzing data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 American Community Survey, this fact sheet examines foreign-born veterans' countries of origin, states of residence, and periods of service.

This pocket guide compiles some of the most credible, accessible, and user-friendly government and non-governmental data sources pertaining to U.S. and international migration. The guide also includes additional links to relevant organizations, programs, research, and deliverables, along with a glossary of frequently used immigration terms.

A look at Mexico's slowing population growth, which, coupled with economic developments and changes in U.S. immigration policy (including stricter border control), has resulted in a slight slowdown in Mexican immigration to the United States relative to the 1995 to 2000 period.

This report looks at the trends and emerging demographics in Asia. From 1960 to 2000, the region experienced a major population boom, however, by 2040, the 15-to-34 age group population will start to shrink.

This exploratory study provides an unprecedented assessment of the “brain-waste” phenomenon in the United States—a serious waste of human capital resulting from the unemployment or underemployment of highly skilled college-educated immigrants.

China and India are major players in international migration. Both countries have very large populations that will continue to grow in the coming years. The available pool of potential migrants from China and India will remain high although population size and density (known as demographic variability) will change from year to year in both countries.

This report views Nevada’s significant population growth between 1990 and 2006 through an immigration and immigrant integration lens—it outlines the reasons that make Nevada’s case unique and worthy of study; and analyzes the educational challenges the state will confront as it responds to rapid demographic change.

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In the Spotlight

U.S., State, & County Profiles of Unauthorized Immigrants

Want the latest estimates and characteristics of unauthorized immigrants in the United States, including those potentially eligible for relief from deportation? Use this innovative data tool to get population estimates and much more—including countries of origin, recency of arrival, educational enrollment and attainment, industries of employment, incomes, English proficiency, and health care coverage—at the national level, by state, and for top counties.

As many as 5.2 million unauthorized immigrants could gain relief under new and expanded deferred action programs that President Obama unveiled in November 2014. Check out our U.S. and state breakdowns of the populations that could benefit from the existing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program or new deferred action program for certain parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.